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Swedish hamburger chain Max has been reported to police on suspicions of trying to bribe members of parliament by sending them a gift card along with an invitation to come eat at the popular fast food restaurant.

“We think that lowering the value-added tax paid by restaurants is an appropriate measure,” wrote Max in a letter sent to each of the Riksdag's 349 members, along with a gift certificate worth 100 kronor ($15).

But the move was met with criticism from several MPs.

“It seems like a clumsy attempt to try to buy sympathy among members of the Riksdag. It's extremely upsetting,” Left Party MP Jens Holm told the TT news agency.

Now the campaign has been reported to police.

In the letter, Max CEO Richard Bergfors expressed his regret that the Riksdag's own restaurant had opted not to lower its prices in the wake of a lowering of the value-added tax paid by restaurants from 25 percent to 12 percent, which took effect at the turn of the year.

He goes on to suggest hungry MPs to come eat at Max instead.

“For us at Max, it's obvious that we should give the amount of the reduced value-added tax back to customers through lower prices,” he wrote.

According to Bergfors, Max expects to give 140 million kronor back to customers via reduced prices and to add 150 to 250 new jobs to deal with the expected increase in demand as a result of the tax reduction.

“A restaurant job is often a young person's first step into the job market and that's why the reform is important,” he wrote.

Social Democrat MP Eva-Lena Jansson plans on sending the gift certificate back to Max.

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